Are You a Foodie?

My whole life I have felt out of sync with what is popular and accepted. I always kept my unique interests a little bit of a secret. For example my interest in "B" horror movies, Godzilla and other horror movies, Star Trek( yes I was a trekkie!) back when it was first on TV. None of my friends were into food like me. I would read cook books all of the time and make lunches, dinners and desserts for my Mom & Dad and others. It wasn't until my 30's I heard wind of people who were called "Foodies" through Gourmet magazine and other sources. That was when I also first heard of the Sterns. Well I guess that a foodie was one of the things I was my whole life along with, I'm sure many other nerdy things. Anyone else?

I don't think foodie is being snooty. I like food even though I can't eat that much anymore. I am interested in my local restaurants and what they offer and what they are doing even if I can't go to many anymore. I call that being a foodie even if I have to eat ramen at home right now.

lleechef, I guess that's what I'm getting at. I think I was born a chef or cook if you will. I love to cook, eat, explore new eats and beyond! When I was younger though, I felt somewhat isolated. It's also why I resent being called a Trekkie! Should I? Probably not. If I have learned one thing in my life it's that I should be happy in what I am!!

Agnesrob, you remind me of me. Besides a passion for food and eating out, I share your affection for Japanese monster films and B-grade horror films, especially the ones from the 1950s. I also post regularly on the Classic Horror Film Board and there's a thread there with almost 700 pages of puns and jokes regarding Tabonga the tree monster from the low budget "classic" FROM HELL IT CAME. If you haven't already discovered CHFB, you really ought to check it out.

I thoroughly enjoy cooking, and eating, and experimenting. But to me, "foodie" has a negative connotation. As has been said earlier, it implies snobby and uptight...like someone who would rather have two teaspoons of vegetables and a sliver of meat all alone in the middle of a huge plate, drizzled with some exotic blend of truffle oil and spices instead of a huge rack of ribs that requires 37 napkins to eat. You know?

But then I have an issue with almost anything people add an "ie" onto the end of to indicate a group of people. If it's the people in the group saying it, it sounds pretentious. And if it's people outside the group saying it, it sounds condescending.

*To me. All y'all can certainly feel differently about it, and more power to you!

Edit: Just read the link from Slashfood, and while they insist that "foodie" is essentially the common man's word, it just isn't to me.

I'm a Roadfood kind of guy. I like all kinds of lunch counters, BBQ joints, clam shacks, pizza places, steak houses, Cajun cooking and dairy bars. TV watchers would describe me as a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives kind of guy. When it comes to cooking my own meals, I don't go beyond the basics - spaghetti, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc. Does that make me a Foodie? I don't know.

eruby, I know what you mean about labels. They can be a bad thing unless you label yourself, in that, you have finally found a kindred, or many!. For many years I felt like I didn't fit in or was weird (which I may still be ). I can talk to people about all kinds of hotdogs, natural casing or not, mentioning their number to pound ratio. I'm always willing to debate dry versus wet aging of beef. And then there's how to make the perfect corned beef hash or that homemade tomato aspic I made my Mom for lunch when I was nine years old. For as long as I can remember whenever anyone I knew went out for dinner or to a party my first question was never "did you have a good time?" but "what did you have to eat?", even as a child. I think that when I first read the term "foodie" in an old Gourmet magazine, when in my 20's, it was more of a revelation than an insult. I am many other things too, Mom to 3, wife and sci-fi nerd, along with that bad horror film thing I love. I love the saying "Some people eat to live, I live to eat!" For me, I guess, the term "Foodie" is not derogatory but an affirmation that I'm not that weird and at least to some, I belong!